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'Golden Years' Bandit Gets 5 Years In The Slammer

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The man dubbed the  "Golden Years Bandit" was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $25,000 for robbing several banks.

William McCormick Jr., 59, pleaded guilty in December in Los Angeles to a three-count indictment charging him with robbing three banks between March and September 2010 in Rosemead, San Gabriel and Alhambra, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter also ordered McCormick, an El Monte resident,  to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay H. Robinson said.

Witness descriptions of McCormick and his methods were similar in each holdup, according to the FBI.

When McCormick was arrested last Oct. 6 on suspicion of domestic violence, he was carrying notes similar to the ones used by the bandit, prompting sheriff's deputies to contact the FBI, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

The robber, whose heists included a Sept. 23 robbery at a Chase bank branch in Alhambra on Sept. 23, got his nickname based on witness descriptions and bank surveillance photographs, Eimiller said.

 (©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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